The continuing preoccupation with historical child sexual abuse cases has focused attention on a number of associated issues. An issue central to this book and the focus of this chapter is the nature of allegations/false allegations. In looking into the way in which allegations of sexual abuse are dealt with, the chapter will explore the nature, importance and significance of allegations in the criminal justice process and the ways in which ‘credibility’ and ‘truth’ are examined and evidenced.

The power of allegations

On 22 July 2019, Carl Beech was found guilty by a jury at Newcastle Crown Court of 12 counts of perverting the course of justice and one count of fraud. Mr Justice Goss sentenced Beech to a total of 18 years’ imprisonment (R v Beech, Sentencing Remarks, Unreported, Newcastle Crown Court, 26 July 2019). Between December 2012 and March 2016, Carl Beech (referred to as ‘Nick’) had made a series of allegations of murder and child sexual abuse against a number of public figures. These included some particularly serious allegations about the abuse of boys on the Dolphin Square estate in Pimlico in London. The names of several of the prominent individuals against whom allegations were made were reported in the press. They included the former Conservative Home Secretary, Lord Brittan, the former Chief of the Defence Staff, Field Marshall Lord Bramall, the former Prime Minister, Edward Heath, and the former Labour MP, Greville Janner (Daily Telegraph, 2015).

Beech had first contacted the police with allegations of child sexual abuse in the autumn of 2012 after the broadcast of a documentary about the life of the media personality, Jimmy Savile, and the launch of Operation Yewtree. Partly as a result of Beech's allegations, the Metropolitan Police launched Operation Midland in November 2014. In March 2016, Operation Midland was ended with no charges being brought (The Guardian, 2016). In February 2016, following concerns expressed about the nature of both the allegations and the Metropolitan Police inquiries, the then Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir Bernard Hogan Howe, asked a retired High Court Judge, Sir Richard Henriques, to conduct a review into the actions of the Metropolitan Police Service in relation to these allegations.